Preschool room or laundry mat???

Woozers! This was our learning space yesterday!



I will neither confirm or deny that we had a picnic snack outside yesterday because I didn't get this all done yesterday during nap time.

I would never let laundry for 7 people get this out of hand!
Never!

Happy Friday!

We are wrapping up our "C" week. We treated our self to a "C" snack.
Cookies... like not very healthy, yummy frosting in the middle, double stacked, 410 calories cookies. We ate this early this morning so we could burn off the calories during our outside play.

They were so yummy!

Today we played outside, switched out the toys, changed the calendar for Monday, and packed up all of our themed posters and goodies. We are moving onto October!

I brought in some new toys from the garage... well, old toys but new to these guys. I love switching up the play areas. It's like Christmas.

We still played outside a lot this morning- what another great day for it. Plus, we are all kinda over the dinosaur theme. We have been on it for 2 weeks now and I, I mean, we are done. There are only some many bone hunts, act like a dino type activities we can do. All that rant is to say, we are looking forward to our new set of themes next week!

My girls are such divas... their pretend play play is just funny to watch...

And it's ravioli day... Kenni was wearing a new shirt so we de-dressed the child for lunch!

Looking forward to next week... we even have a special surprise on Wednesday!

Me and the Hubs...

So, here is another one of our pictures... I really love this one of Dustin and I. However, I wished my jeans were fitting a little better in the booty area. My but isn't THAT big in real life.

Anyway!

Totally off topic. So, today I am chatting about my hubs, the man, Big D, the mac to my cheese.
I really have no idea where this post will go so I will apologize now if it is too over the top cheesy.

Last night as I was driving home from Cubbies, I realized what a crazy night it had been. I had dinner ready to eat by 4:30, Dustin was running late from work, kids were dressed, vests and books were signed, and Kadyn's friend was meeting us at church. Dustin had to change and eat, so we took 2 cars. I left so I could set up for Cubbies, and D brought the kids up shortly after, checked them all in, and dropped one off at the nursery, one at Cubbies, one at Sparks, and one at TnT.

After clubs were finished, Dustin met me and Mia at the Cubbies building (which is not in the same building the other 2 clubs meet)... again he picked one up from the nursery, two from Sparks, and one from TnT. He grabbed Mia, took the van with all the mini small children in toe, dropped off Kadyn's friend at her house, and took the clan home.

Sorry... Rambling...

When I think about Dustin there are certain words that pop into my mind... selfless, amazing, patient, loving, uplifting, supportive (and great looking).

I think back to when we were looking for childcare for Gaby and Kadyn after my mom was sick, I told him I couldn't take dropping off our kids to just anyone. When we discussed opening up a daycare and me staying home, he never questioned or doubted the choice for us. We gave up a second income to make this choice happen- he was supportive.

Dustin is simply amazing! There are many times I just look at him and wonder, why am I so blessed to have this man? He loves me unconditionally.

I love the sound of his voice- I love talking to him when the kids are in bed and we finally get to sit down and reconnect for the day. I love his voice. I love how calming it is to me. I love how he talks, how he uses words that I can't pronounce- and when he looks at me funny when I ask him to say it again.

Dustin is the person in my life that I look up to. I want to be more like him. Selfless, loving, patient.

I love this man. I love his big heart. I love his dreams (even though they scare me), and I love that he is my husband!

Paleontolog...what???

During free play, I caught miss A on the computer... flash forward a few years and she'll be doing this very same thing! The keys in her lap and computer open.

My newest little peanut... hanging out and watching the bigger kids act silly.

This morning Mia hung out with my mom/dad and went to run errands with them. I thought to myself, "wow, Mia is gone. This should be a pleasant morning". Well, nope! I had that wrong.

Kendal decided to step up her game today. She is in time out for biting my arm. Then she started telling me "no" and stomping her little foot down. And if that wasn't enough, she threw her favorite lamb across the room while throwing her 1 year old fit. After her crazy morning- I was happy to welcome Mia back home!

My little trouble maker in time out...

Today we continued our theme on Dinosaurs. We talked about paleontologist and their jobs. We gave up on trying to say it. They just didn't get it. But we colored the tools that paleontologist use and made a cool necklace out of them. Our centers today included finding dino bones and going on a fossil hunt. We have great imaginations!

Our project from yesterday...

My little Buttercups...

Well, they are my little peanuts, but their lessons are called, "Buttercups". Sometimes I get caught up in what my bigger kids are doing and I leave out the toddlers and their achievements. Their lessons come from the same company as I use for my preschoolers. My toddler lessons are quarterly vs. monthly. The themes sometimes go with the older group but sometimes don't, it is a fun mix for the toddlers. This age is fun and challenging all at the same time.

They are learning about the color red...

My peanuts are learning about apples still... they colored their apple card.

Then painted it with red (washable) paint.

They LOVED the painting and stamping...

It's a little harder to get pictures of the little peanuts because you are making sure they don't eat the paint or crayons.

This month, we have worked on the signs for red, apple, in and out.

These kids are newly toddlers... some of the lessons are above their heads but the exposure is great for them. They are learning new songs and starting to count! So awesome to watch their progress.

Backyard work day....

Our Saturday was spent outside cleaning up, refreshing, and fixing up the playground. My handyman was there to get wood chips, build up the outline of the playground with more wood, and burn the burn pile. I am so thankful for my handy handyman. He's cheap, he's a hard worker, and pretty to look at! Awe.... my hubby aka the handy man is great!

Our little helper... testing out all the toys to make sure they all work!

Mia and Dustin adding to our wooden outline of the play area...

Kadyn is watching the fire to make sure it is under control...

Our huge burn pile...

Gaby picking up tree limbs to add to the fire...

The kids were going into the woods to find more stuff to burn... they loved throwing things into the fire. They get this from their father. Lucky for us, we have a fire fighter that lives across the street- they would probably saves us pretty fast- I hope! :)

Our family clean up day!

A sneak peek of our family shoot...
Gaby 9, Kadyn 6, Mia 3, and Kendal 20mo.

You really can't tell from this picture that Kenni was melting down, Mia was running all over the place, Kadyn was hyper and not listening and Gaby was good!

Movin' on up...bigger things!

Yes. I will be the first one to admit there is a lot on our family plate right now. But really, who's plate isn't full? Who isn't carting their kids to dance, soccer, baseball, church night, scout meetings? I haven't found many people that say, "we are just not busy at all". If those people are out there- I haven't met them. Probably because I am too busy, right? And who came up with the term, " a lot of our plate"? Why does everything have to relate back to eating?? Wow, am I off topic or what???

So, my big news is that I am taking on a part time job. I am working for our church as their nursery coordinator. This was a huge choice for our family as it means I will be working outside the home some and adding duties to our full family calendar. I will admit- when I think of adding one more thing, I do get nervous. I would never take on a task that I can not put my heart and soul into. I am excited for this new chapter to start. This job will put what I think are my strengths to work. I love working with kids but I also love connecting, building relationships, and working with adults.

I am keeping my daycare open. I love my job. Yes, there are certainly challenging days but I love teaching my peanuts that are in my care and I love my families I work for. It is a tough job however I wouldn't change it for the world. I do my daycare so I can stay home with my peanuts, educate other young peanuts, and provide a safe and healthy environment for peanuts to grow. I have 4 children I gave birth too but really I have 10 kids, daycare is just extended family for me. It is my love and my passion (most days...:).

I love working at our church. Over the summer, I felt like I was missing something. I was looking and searching and I really had no idea what part of my life it would be attached too- family, work, friends, kids, Dustin or anything. I just knew I was looking for something. I think it is funny how many signs you think you see when you want something to happen so badly. I really wish I would have gotten a bright neon sign from God or something saying, "Yes Laura, this is the path I want you to take". But no, it didn't happen that way. It came in a form of a phone call. I got a call from one of the staff at TBC asking if I would want to be the Cubbies Director. I said yes. Again, it combines what I love to do. Organize our club meetings, work with kids, and connect with adults. I was on it! I found the more I prepared for the club meetings, I realized how much I liked our church work environment. Through this Cubbie process, I have met so many stinkin' adorable people. Moms, dads, highschoolers, ect. It really has been awesome to meet so many people. Whom I will apologize to because I suck at name, faces I can remember- names not so much!

When this nursery job opened up, I was shocked at how badly I wanted to go for it. Knowing how much I would have to learn, the extra hours I would put in, and how much people of the church depend on me getting this job right. Even with the challenges I might face, I knew this was the path for me. I feel like this position was what I was looking for... sounds silly I know!

I have also made a change to daycare as I will be adding a very part time staff member. Part time job aside, I would have done this. I have always loved working from home but it doesn't allow for much flexibility! I miss being able to go to my kids school and work in the office or volunteer. I don't get to drop everything and run and have lunch with Gaby and Kadyn. And I don't think they notice I don't do these things but I do. I am as involved as I can be with their schooling, teachers, parties, ect. So, by hiring a staff person, this allows me to stay open more but leave once in a while to do things for my older kids. I am excited about this.

I have gotten a ton of support from Dustin, friends, and random people that have heard I am taking the job. That is really nice. Without my husband being okay with this, I couldn't do it. I think he sees the long term and how happy I was when I was told I could have the job. We prayed about it for a week- discussing pros and cons, time, commitments ect. What an amazing hubby I have- I have said it a million times. I admire this man for everything he is and how much he believes in me.

So, we're movin' on up... up to another job! Another portion to add to our full, all you can eat, buffet style plate!


But because of these people in my life- I strive to give my everything. I want to be a Godly woman, a serving wife, and role model momma!

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me". (Philippians 4:13)

My little Cubbie Bear

Last year Mia was a Puggle. She loved it however it is only a one year program. This year Mia is a Cubbie Bear. I love getting to sneak into her group and see how see interacts with others. She loved water painting last night. She is my cute little Cubbie Bear!

My girly girls love this room... they can play dress up, kitchen, legos, school, or whatever they want. They know the rule, as long as they pick up what they get out, they can play with whatever. This is what our free time is all about...

Today we got the parachute out... we made some fun sounds, bounced balls, and other B objects.

We even pulled it over our heads...

We are learning about the color red. We tore paper which is a great fine motor skill and then glued it on our white paper. Easy, simple, and very fun... they loved doing it!

Really, they love anything that involved glue sticks.

We also made dinosaur puppets.

And went over our B bags today...

Small group playdate

This past Tuesday we headed up to the lake for a picnic, play time, and fellowship.
Let me just say, I love our small group. We have been with our group for over 3 years- Dustin and I had just found we were pregnant with Mia when we had joined. There are 5 families and 15 children between us all.

The weather was awesome... Gaby playing around.

Mia LOVES swings. Daddy was pushing her high. She says, "higher, higher, hold on tight".

Kenni joining in on the fun. Love her big smile.

Some of our friends' kiddos...

Kadyn trying out the monkey bars... she practices on them everyday at school.

Getting the kids settled in to eat dinner...

After dinner the older kids and a couple of the dads went across the street and played a game of soccer. Gaby was all over this. She is my little sports girl for sure!

Um, we took up a lot of table space...

At the end of our night... me and the hubs!